Hogan plus Vowles

A JOKE THAT EXPLAINS A LOT. Some years ago I heard a joke that, in a way, explains a lot of the problems that we have today. Anyway here is the joke: “A very rich guy is at a disco or dance and dances with this attractive woman. He then asks her – will you sleep with me for a million pounds? Without too much hesitation the woman she says –YES. A little time passes and the rich man is again dancing with this woman. So this time the guy says – Will you sleep with me for twenty quid? She takes umbrage, glares at him and says – NO, what do you take me for? He quietly looks at her and says – Look, I know what you are but we’re just arguing the price.” In a way the joke is a parable. At this time every one is up in arms over the banks, not without justification, but is it that simple? Every afternoon the TV has ads showing Bingo on-line, or another ad urges you to sue your employer and get lots of wonga. Mainstream programmes in the evening are punctuated with phone ...

Masterchief 1967. I guess most of you have watched Masterchief on TV? Well I have a winner for 1967. No, it is not me but one Aboud Yasin abu Shama, a Palestinian from Nablus, on the West Bank, Israel. Let me tell you how this came to pass.  After leaving South Africa and returning to England I joined Collins Submarine Pipelines, an American company owned by a mad Texan called Sammy Collins who also dredged diamonds from the sea [but that’s another story]. He had this major operation based upon Ras al Khafji, in the Neutral Zone, sandwiched between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. [It’s where the First Gulf War kicked off.] Anyway Sammy secured the operation of a small fleet of Saudi offshore vessels from Hansa, a German company, and he appointed me to command a ship named after a princess called “Sarah”. I had the best crew ever, all Arab, The cook/chief steward was Aboud and, as it turned out would have easily gained the title had the programme been around at the time. He had ...

Early one Monday morning, it was October 18th, 1954, I sailed into Rio de Janeiro on board the Reardon Smith tramp ship "Eastern City."

The "Eastern City" arrived in Novorossiysk, a major naval port in the USSR, the Soviet Union, on 13th September 1954. In 1942, the town was occupied by the Wehrmacht but a small unit of Soviet sailors defended one part of the town for 225 days, until it was liberated on September 16, 1943 by the Russian Red Army. The heroic defence of the port by the sailors allowed the Soviets to retain possession of the city's bay, which prevented the Germans from using the port for supply shipments. Novorossiysk was awarded the title of a "Hero City" in 1973. So we arrived there eleven years after its liberation from the Nazis but the evidence of the war was still evident. The first impression of the place was dilapidation and lack of money. There was no humour in the place, the officials were grim and solid. No cameras were allowed. Passes had to shown. The military were everywhere. The ship was inspected and passed to load wheat for Brazil. The Mate thanked me for my hel...

ISTANBUL "PAMIR" When we sailed from Split on the Dalmatian coast we were faced with a dirty, difficult, and dangerous spell of work in preparing the ship to load a full cargo of wheat from the Caucasus. The dirty part was cleaning the ship after discharging 10,000 tons of black dusty coal taken out by cranes with grabs and spilling dust everywhere.The dangerous part was erecting shifting boards the length of the ship and then creating a series of wooden bins. Grain is a dangerous cargo.The angle of repose of most grain is about 50 degrees and there is an 8% settlement on passage. I well remember the laborious and sometimes precarious task of erecting shifting boards while on passage across to be ready to load on arrival in one of the grain ports. Weather was seldom ideal for straddling the tweendeck and main deck beams in order to bolt the uprights for the shifting boards and feeders to the beams, the uprights swinging around on the end of a runner while the ship is rolling...

We arrived in Split, Yugoslavia, on Friday, 3rd September, 1954 following a good crossing of the Atlantic, bunkering in Gibraltar, and a fair weather passage through the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas. Gibraltar was kind of disappointing - we bunkered far from the main port and the rock was big but covered in huge concrete "rain catchers" that made it drab. The Adriatic and Dalmatian coasts were spectacular, lots of attractive islands, a back drop of mountains, and great weather. It was not easy to navigate as many mined areas still existed. Split is a magnificent city with a history stretching back about two thousand years. The area had suffered from the war and there was still evidence of this. Tourism was to follow in later years but then, as in other parts of Europe, it was rebuilding its industry and infrastructure. When we visited anywhere in the 1950s it was to represent Britain and the Captain would not let any of the apprentices ashore without they were dressed in a...

We arrived in Portland, Maine, on Thursday, 12th August, 1954 after a good passage across the Western Ocean [i.e.what West Countrymen call the Atlantic Ocean.] The approaches to that port are quite attractive; much of the New England coastline is very attractive despite some of the subsequent developments for tourism. The pilot took us up to the railhead terminal to load just over 10,000 tons of anthracite for Yugoslavia. It was apparent that this was to be a swift loading process and we would sail in a matter of hours. All American ports handle bulk cargoes with unbelievable efficiency. We then faced the US Customs & Immigration and the effects of the Ugly American. I really like America but every now and again that nation produces a prize numpty, today it is Al Gore [a Democrat] and back in the 1950's it was the Republican Senator from Wisconsin - one Joseph McCarthy. He stirred up a stupid concept that can be summed up by the phrase "Reds under the Bed" [ a parano...

I sailed from Falmouth with a smile and faced another voyage of adventure. It's appropriate to reflect on just how the world was in 1954 as it really did impact the life of a seafarer and his family. The Prime Minister of the UK was Churchill but he was then 80 and coming to the end of his undoubted greatness. Eisenhower was the President of the US and convinced of the threat of Communism; I think he made the "domino theory" speech in this year that reckoned that if a state or country became communist then it was a just a matter of time before the country next door succumbed to socialism too. Then there was one Senator Joseph MacCarthy who came into prominence at this time; a prize clown but did he create havoc.[There will be more on this numpty later.] The Soviet Union, the USSR, had a power struggle between Malenkov [Stalin's heir] and the gradual takeover by Nikita Khrushchev. Russia became a threat again. Mao, another lunatic, ruled China and so the world was in ...

The beginning of my watershed year commenced when the tramp ship m/v "Eastern City" docked in Falmouth Harbour on the last day of July 1954 and closed Articles that had been opened in Glasgow in March. The crew of 34 men paid off and all went home on leave with two exceptions, the Chief Officer, 'Mortician' Davis, and the most junior guy on board - yours truly 'Ginger' Hogan. I had better explain 'Articles' - this was an agreement composed by the Board of Trade [the UK Government] during the war that made a contract between the seafarer and shipowner to serve on the owner's ship. This agreement, inter alia, tied you to the ship for TWO years as long as that vessel did not come back to the United Kingdom. Tramp ships, by nature of their business, did long voyages that could mean a trip would take you away from home for the whole two years wandering the world. The new Articles were opened and a new crew signed on August 1st 1954. The Mate's wife...

I had joined the tramp ship , “ Eastern City ” in Glasgow on February 23 rd 1954 and sailed away to Casablanca , Morocco , thence through the Mediterranean to the Suez Canal across the Indian Ocean through the Malacca Straits and on to Yokohama , Japan . We then went south, past Lombok and Bali, to Fremantle , Western Australia , loaded thence back across the Indian Ocean to Aden and the Suez Canal and onwards past Gibraltar and thence Bremen in Germany . This voyage ended on the last day of July, 1954, in the port of Falmouth , Cornwall . This completed my first deep voyage. Everyone paid off and went home except the Mate and yours truly an apprentice lad of 16 years of age. The year following my first voyage proved to be a watershed for many reasons and so before explaining why here is a précis of those voyages. I think you will see why when you read this. Articles were opened 1 st August 1954 we sailed from Falmouth the next day and then the following voyage ...

In July 1970 I joined Offshore Marine Ltd. part of Cunard and was sent to Mulgrave , Nova Scotia , to take over the “ Island Shore ” as Relief Master and other Tug-Supply Vessels based on that port in the Canso Strait . I was appointed with Cunard’s intention for me to take over as Fleet Captain and Tow Master. There were two semi-submersible oil-rigs chartered by Shell Canada looking for oil and gas off Nova Scotia . After Christmas leave I returned to take over as Fleet Captain & Tow Master. Tina and the boys joined me later and we had an apartment in Port Hawkesbury, Cape Breton Island, and then bought a mobile home and set up home in the little lobster fishing port of Havre Boucher on mainland Nova Scotia . Lots of stories and oh yes Tina taught me to drive! This story takes up two of the odd challenges that I faced in the early days of being Fleet Manager [and there were many, I can assure you.] The Fleet consisted of 5 British ships based upon Nova Scotia [all o...

This is a story about Sergeant H.R. Goode, 585, 15 Platoon, D Coy. 1/7 Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment following his service in the Great War 1914 - 1918. His picture can be seen in these photographs with his colleagues in that terrible conflict; he survived that war but we do not know how many others here in the photos survived. We know the name of his post and position in the Army as this is as it's listed is in the front of his prayer-book. Sergeant Goode is Tina's maternal Grandfather. He is also Grandfather to Sandra Hamilton and Jim Goode in Canada , Tina's Cousins. The Great War caused the deaths of about 1 million British men and over twenty times this number in total died. However it is often forgotten that this carnage extended to that beautiful creature the horse. Over a quarter of a million horses serving the British troops died. Britain did much to try and give the utmost care to horses and in fact the Royal Veterinary Corps was created a...

This is one of Tina's stories from the time when I was Harbour Master in Castletownbere in the 1980's; note that I say one because there are many tales from that time in West Cork. I was there helping to develop the port as one of Ireland's major fishery centres so the harbour did get Spanish, English and other foreign vessels landing that required the presence of a Customs Revenue Officer. This Officer in Castletown was one really nice young man called Matthew McGrath from Dublin. He was known as Mattie. As I have said, Mattie was a really nice young man and became virtually one of the family, he was not much older than our sons, Greg and Gerard. He introduced Gerard to Gaelic Football [a cross between rugby and soccer] and they all went out to the Wheel Inn for the local dances and fun on weekends. Sometimes Velia, who was 5 years old at the time, would persuade Mattie to take her on board the regular Spanish vessels for a dish of scrumptious french fries cooked in olive...

Real men shop too, I accept that women do it much better than us nevertheless men can do it with some success and pleasure. I also accept that some men do not like shopping. Tina is really good at shopping but you had to see Nan to find a shopper par excellence. Nan could leave a shop in absolute turmoil, buy nothing, and everyone would say "what a nice lady! " as she departed. Actually the word 'shop' is a noun derived from Old Dutch that means stall but it has also become the verb to describe the act of buying goods. It will do in this blog. I do not mean that insane modern phenomenon of 'retail therapy' that is a euphemism for fiscal suicide. How daft can a person get? - they go into a store use a credit card putting 25% on the price and buy something 200% inflated like a top with D&C poorly embroidered on it! [D&C was something quite different in times past , it was spoken in hushed terms by ladies - I believe that it was not a pleasant experienc...

In 1963 , Bristol Steam Navigation operated a twice weekly liner service with the m/v "Pluto" and m/v "Juno" between Bristol, Dublin, and Waterford. I was Chief Officer on the "Juno" and a colleague of mine from Portishead was on the sister ship. The voyage between the ports was approximately 14 to 16 hours depending on the tides and weather. The cargoes were mainly manufactured goods from the United Kingdom and Guinness and food or agricultural products from the Irish Republic. This was in the days before containerisation so you did get some really odd consignments. The subject of this story is very much the true tale from my colleague on the "Pluto" pictured above. It is a great story. In those days there was a liaison between Bristol Zoo in Clifton and the equally lovely Dublin Zoo in Phoenix Park. I believe this link remains to this day with both zoos engaged in conservation, breeding, and welfare of lots of species including the white rh...

It was a warm autumn evening; it was an Indian Summer evening in the 1960s. The "Dido" was inbound to Bristol from Dublin with a cargo of Guinness, bacon, and other good stuff from Ireland. Captain Norman Llewellyn was in charge and piloting, and I was Chief Officer and steering the vessel into the approaches to the wharf just upstream from the Clifton Suspension Bridge. The Captain put on the overhead searchlight to show up the wharf that was obscured by the lights of the Portway Road below Clifton. [If you visit Bristol then it is the wharf with the bust of Samuel Plimsoll MP, the parliamentarian who introduced load lines to ships.] The picture shows this final approach to Bristol City Docks. I had the ship on course and so the Captain pushed the light handle to swing the light to starboard [right hand] so that the bright beam hit Leigh Woods on the Somerset bank of the Avon. This was to stop blinding any cars on the road. It was unbelievable! The spotlight completely h...

The jib is the sail that extends from t he foretopmast head to the jib boom or bowsprit. A sailor could judge the performance of a sailing vessel by its appearance, its cut, and then function. This is comparable to saying " you can judge a book by its cover" - in this blog I take a look at this aphorism taking torn jeans into consideration. My wife, who's opinion I value greatly, says that you can often judge a book by its cover. She then often adds a codicil to that statement by affirming that it isn't always true and you do get some surprises. Let us examine this from a somewhat nautical angle and let you form your opinion. I see someone in jeans with holes in them and I am immediately irate. I revert to type according to my wife. She can tell the temperature is rising and takes appropriate action to get me calmed down. I usually see someone in these jeans as some numpty who still has the cradle marks on his arse, someone who hasn't done a decent day's w...

This blog has been prompted by Mum talking with Velia and the fact that Maureen Mercer, a very good friend, is a teacher at a Catholic School. I believe that primary education can be as important as secondary education; it was certainly the case for me when we went to Bath at the latter part of the War. I went to St. John's School in the city just across the river from the Recreation Ground. The School was run by some lay teachers and nuns from La Sainte Union des Sacrés Coeurs, a French order of nuns with a convent and girls' school across the Pulteney Bridge. [The famous MP and TV personality, Anne Widdecombe, went to this school at the age of eleven.] Two of these nuns were called Madame Lucy Margaret. One was called Little Madame and the other Big Madame. Little Madame was a very tiny lady, like a thistle down, she appeared to glide across the floor and one never saw her feet, and with her face framed in a wimple she seemed the very epitome of holiness and calm. She maint...

In October 1963 I joined the new vessel "Dido" in Bristol as Chief Officer. She was outfitting in the very dock now occupied by the s/s " Great Britain". This old dock was built by French prisoners in the Napoleonic Wars. The ship was really well equipped including a Supertyfon ship's whistle manufactured by Kockum's of Sweden, this is the Rolls Royce of ship's whistles; it is loud, very deep, vibrato, and can be heard for miles. All cruise ships have this type of whistle. Navigating the River Avon depends on tides and tides are determined by the moon so the time of the tide changes daily. The river to Bristol can only be entered on the flood. i.e. a rising tide twice per day. If you look at the picture of the ship approaching the Horse Shoe Bend then you will see why it is appropriate for port regulation's to require a vessel to sound a prolonged blast. There is a nice residential area of Bristol called Sea Mills close to the Horse Bend, a kind ...